Location
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Stan Fulton Building
Start Date
1-6-2007 10:50 AM
End Date
1-6-2007 11:00 AM
Description
During the Cold War, the United States conducted over 1000 nuclear weapons tests. Of those, 928 took place at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). One hundred tests were in the atmosphere and 921 underground at the 1375 square mile site located 65 north of Las Vegas. Nevada Test Site Oral History Project (NTSOHP) researchers have conducted over 300 hours of interviews with individuals affiliated with and impacted by the NTS, documenting the diversity of experience among many communities of voices including: weapons scientists, test site officials, laborers, contractors and support personnel, the military, American Indians, communities downwind of the NTS, anti-nuclear activists. The interviews record the often conflicting calculations of the risk and benefits of nuclear testing, providing a unique window into the reasoning and decision-making strategies utilized by individuals at all levels of the U.S. Cold War nuclear testing program complex, 1951-1992.
Keywords
Cold war; Decision-making; Nevada – Nevada Test Site; Nevada Test Site (NTS); Nevada Test Site Oral History Project (NTSOHP); Oral histories; Oral history
Disciplines
Defense and Security Studies | Nuclear | Political History | Science and Technology Policy | Social History | United States History
Language
English
Included in
Defense and Security Studies Commons, Nuclear Commons, Political History Commons, Science and Technology Policy Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons
Session 1 - Cold War technoscience in Nevada: The Nevada test site oral history project
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Stan Fulton Building
During the Cold War, the United States conducted over 1000 nuclear weapons tests. Of those, 928 took place at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). One hundred tests were in the atmosphere and 921 underground at the 1375 square mile site located 65 north of Las Vegas. Nevada Test Site Oral History Project (NTSOHP) researchers have conducted over 300 hours of interviews with individuals affiliated with and impacted by the NTS, documenting the diversity of experience among many communities of voices including: weapons scientists, test site officials, laborers, contractors and support personnel, the military, American Indians, communities downwind of the NTS, anti-nuclear activists. The interviews record the often conflicting calculations of the risk and benefits of nuclear testing, providing a unique window into the reasoning and decision-making strategies utilized by individuals at all levels of the U.S. Cold War nuclear testing program complex, 1951-1992.
Comments
3 pages
DOI: 10.1109/ISTAS.2007.4362226